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Donald E. Morton Tempe, AZ QCWA # 31968 Chapter 16 |
Donald Morton, 93, of Tempe, passed away on Sunday, April 4, 2021 in Mesa.
Mr. Donald Eugene Morton, a retired electrical engineer, was born on February 22, 1928 in Wheatland, Wyoming to Claude Lorraine and Inez May (Pettry) Morton. Moving from Guernsey, Wyoming while in high school, Donald soon became fond of the Valley of the Sun and never missed the frigid snow and the high winds which swept the Wyoming prairies. He unabashedly took pride in having been born in Wyoming, but he truly became and Arizonan. Following high school graduation and acceptance to Arizona State University, Donald became a life-long Sun Devil, maintaining his season football tickets throughout the rest of his life.
Donald met Alice, through church connections when Alice's pastor spoke with Donald's father, Rev. Claude Morton, a pastor at First Presbyterian Church, Phoenix Arizona. The other pastor made the contact to help a shy girl moving from Pennsylvania to attend nursing school. Alice did not really remember much about meeting Donald at their original meeting because there were new puppies in Donald's parents' home. The church was an integral part of the household life they created together. Donald and Alice were among the founding members at University United Presbyterian Church, Tempe, Arizona.
Donald served in the US Army Radio Corps during the Korean War in Cherbourg, France, helping to develop the Transatlantic Cable for communications. Upon returning from France, he and Alice were married on December 11, 1953.
Following college graduation from ASU, Donald worked as an electrical engineer in the fields of aeronautics and communications, creating parts that would launch rockets to explore the moon, and developing earth-satellite communications relays for television and radio networks. Frequently, while on family vacations, Donald would share his love for mountain-top communications towers as the family traveled upward to catch a glimpse of parabolic dishes, tower composition, and other components.
As a life-long HAM radio operator, as W7LBN, towers were a constant even at home with the 70' tower in the backyard. That tower, to us as children, provided a kind of crow's nest perspective on the entire neighborhood. The tower has served as a landmark in the neighborhood for sixty-years.
As the children grew and retirement came on, Donald and Alice remained active in church, participated in Habitat for Humanity, traveled some, and enjoyed their time together. By 2002, Alice begun to decline in health while Donald lovingly provided for her ongoing comfort and care until she passed away in 2007. In the remaining years, he never lost sight of his hope to reunite with her when his life had completed it's journey.
He is survived by his children, David B. Morton (Cynthia Morton) of Tempe, Linda Morton Hunter (David Hunter) of Brookings, OR and Craig Morton (Karla Morton) of Meridian, ID. He is also survived by his brother, Dan Morton of Gillette, Wyoming, 14 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren.
Tempe Mortuary is entrusted with the arrangements.